Jim woke with a start the next morning stifling a scream that was trying to rip its way from his throat. The nightmare he’d been having only moments before caused him a slight disorientation which panicked him even more. Images from it kept superimposing themselves over the familiar objects in his room. One minute he was looking at a chair the next minute it was a bush. He was still trying to orient himself when he looked at a poster that had been on his wall since he was ten but instead of the familiar movie star looking down at him it was a beast with dark red smoldering eyes. Stifling yet another scream he shook his head and looked again. This time everything was normal. Well, almost everything.
Unfortunately he was again lying in wet sheets. This was starting to be a regular thing with him. Now that his attention was finally somewhere else the dream he’d been having was quickly fading. Unfortunately, thinking about the creature he thought he saw a few seconds ago triggered part of it to come back. He could vaguely remember something about a beast of some sort chasing him through dark woods he’d never seen before. Every time he thought he’d escaped it he found the thing right back in front of him waiting with its mouth open like it was going to eat him. Just thinking about it gave him the chills. By thinking about it he realized something else. It was the same monster he’d dreamed of a couple nights ago. Having the same type of dream a couple nights in a row was really strange. At least he thought it was. Too bad there was nothing he could do about it. He didn’t want to think about it anymore. If only he could forget about the eyes, then he’d be ok.
He couldn’t understand why he might be having dreams like these. He’d heard somewhere that what people dreamed was a way for their minds to deal with things. What problems he might be dealing with that would make dream of monsters was beyond him though. He hardly ever dreamed of monsters. At least not since he’d been a little kid. The last time he could honestly remember doing it was back in high school.
It was around the same time as…well that was funny. He couldn’t remember. One second he’d been trying to remember a childhood dream and the next thing he knew it was gone. No more memory. He tried to grab hold of it again but it was too elusive. He didn’t know if he should be glad or not. The need to figure out what was going on still gnawed at him. It wasn’t like him to have dreams like that.
Putting dreams aside for later pondering and tiring of lying on wet sheets, he finally rolled from the bed and headed towards the bathroom. He’d planned on going back to town today to see if he could find out what else had changed since his departure. There was also the matter of finding Rob to deal with. He really hoped he could find him today. He needed to find out more about Tommy’s death and Rob was the only other person he could ask.
He thought sleeping on it might make him feel better about the whole thing but it had done the exact opposite. He just couldn’t let it go and accept that it was all just an accident, especially after hearing what Maria had to say. She was weird, but she did give him some more questions to ask when he found Rob. He didn’t know exactly what he thought Rob might tell him but it would still be more than what little he already knew.
On his way down the stairs he heard plates clinking together and guessed his mother was already there making breakfast. Looking at his watch he corrected himself. She was probably making brunch. He didn’t realize he’d slept so late, that definitely wasn’t like him. With his job back in the city he was usually up early everyday so even when he was off on the weekends he didn’t sleep in very late. Now it was almost noon if his watch was to be believed. Dream or not he’d somehow manage to sleep almost half the day away. Mom was at the stove cooking something as he walked into the kitchen.
“I thought you might want something to eat," she said glancing over her shoulder as he took a seat. “Ya know something? You don’t look like you’re eating enough. You’re gone all skin and bones since you were here last.”
It was the same thing every time he came but he was used to it by now so he didn’t even try protesting her observations. It wouldn’t have done any good anyways. Jim had always been skin and bones, his mother just hadn’t seemed to notice. To her he was always too skinny and in need of more food. For being a twenty nine-year-old man he didn’t think he was doing half bad. He still had a full head of light brown hair, hadn’t gained a lot of weight and could still play a game of basketball with guys ten years younger than him. How many guys his age could say that? Most of them were bald with no hair and sat on their butts doing nothing all the time. He’d seen a lot of them while on the job.
He found his looks had never been anything to write home about, but they were his and he was used to them and he had gotten his share of compliments throughout his life so he couldn’t be that bad. Mostly he heard about how cool his eyes were. This would usually be a bad thing if the only thing a girl could find good to say was that she liked his eyes, but he’d heard it his whole life. He didn’t know what was so cool about them though. The only thing he could think of was that they had a tendency to change color depending on his mood. When he was calm they were a nice, normal green but when he got upset or pissed off they changed to a blazing greenish-blue. If that was what women thought was cool then more power to them and good for him. Unfortunately his mother wasn’t mesmerized by his eyes. As far as she was concerned he was who he was and was always in need of more food so he could put some meat on his bones. She was always telling him that women liked being able to feel something when they hugged a man, and if all he had were his pokey bones then that explained why he didn’t have a girlfriend. He would just keep his mouth shut and let her say her piece. He wanted to tell her it was a bit more complicated than just gaining some weight but he didn’t. She needed to think it was something and not just the fact that not that many girls were interested. There’d been a few over the years but none that wanted to stick around for a while. She prattled on and on while he ate. He didn’t pay it much mind. In one ear and out the other, just like when he’d been little.
While he was eating, his mother asked what he was planning to do that day. Not wanting to speak with a mouthful of food he held a finger up telling her to wait a minute. He never understood it but his mother had always been big on talking at meals. Most parents back when he was growing up, wanted their kids to be seen and not heard. Not his mother. She conducted most of her daily conversations in the kitchen during a meal of some sort. That was one of the things his friends had liked about his mom. She was laid back unlike other parents. They ate over at his house every chance they got.
Since he hadn’t had a chance to tell her about it before, he told her in between mouthfuls about his unlucky meeting with Maria from the day before. When asked how he’d known her, he told his mom she was an old acquaintance from high school. Even with a day to think about it he still only had vague recollections of her and from those he didn’t think she had been or ever would be what he would call a friend. After telling her some of the things Maria had gleefully told him concerning Tommy’s death he asked to hear her thoughts on the whole thing. She agreed that it sounded strange but that maybe she was just excited about seeing him again. She also told him again that he should find Rob and get information from someone that would know and quit listening to gossip.
With that advice barely out of her mouth he finished his last bite of food and told her that was exactly what he was going to go do. He put his plate in the sink, planted a kiss on her cheek and was out the door before she could say anything else.
He was greeted by a slightly overcast morning that just about accurately reflected his current emotional mood. Dark and melancholy.
Yup, that was him to the bone.
As if to echo the tears that had been falling from his eyes recently it looked like it might turn to rain at some point throughout the day. Not really caring if he got wet he decided to walk to town. It was only water after all.
He wandered down the road and memory lane thinking about his childhood and the things they’d done as they grew up. He was really looking forward to finding Rob. If nothing else at least then he’d have a more familiar face to see. He hoped it wouldn’t be too hard to locate him. He could probably ask around or go to the police station if worse came to worse but if he did that he might run into the sheriff. He wanted to put that off as long as possible, if at all. Hopefully Rob would know something. The two of them weren’t as close as they’d once been, time tended to do that, but he hoped it hadn’t changed things too much.
As he walked towards town he eventually passed the restaurant Maria worked at. Glancing at the windows he quickened his pace a little. Hopefully she wasn’t there and if she was she wouldn’t see him. Just in case he walked a little faster, almost running, until the place was safely behind him. Maria was definitely a strange one he thought looking back over his shoulder making sure she wasn’t there. He still didn’t remember too much about her but he was pretty sure she hadn’t been as weird as she was now when they were in high school. The most he could remember was that she’d been one of the quiet kids who would get excited just by someone saying hello to her. That and the tagging along behind him stuff, but that wasn’t that big a deal. She sure had changed. Now it seemed like she was Dr Frankenstein’s younger sister or something. She seemed just a little too enthusiastic telling him the circumstances of Tommy’s death for Jim’s comfort. It was almost like she’d been bragging or something. She’d really seemed to enjoy talking about it that was for sure. Oh well, he thought shuddering, that’s just how some people are. He didn’t have to like it. He would just make sure he avoided her for the remainder of his stay. It wouldn’t be that hard. He wasn’t really going to be home long enough to do anything so there shouldn’t be a problem. After he was gone he wouldn’t need to worry about her or her gruesome enjoyment of death anymore and that was just fine with him. The sooner everything was over the better.
Glad to be out of any area Maria might be found in Jim realized he must’ve been walking faster than he thought. When he finally took a few seconds to look up he saw he had almost made it to the old grocery store he hung out at as a kid. It never had been much of a store, he thought looking at it. He savored the few minutes he had and studied what once had been so familiar. Back then he’d looked at it with childish eyes. Now he was an adult and saw it not for what he once made it to be, but for what it actually was.
Back when he was a kid it had seemed an almost magical place where he and his friends could get everything their little hearts desired. Now it was just an old run down store that didn’t even look like one. It actually looked like it used to be a house and Jim guessed at one point it probably had been. The place had to be one of the oldest buildings in town so it must’ve once been something other than a store. The only thing that really identified it for what it was now was the old dilapidated icebox setting off to the side of the front door and the old, faded weather worn sign proclaiming the name of the place. Grandmas.
Just seeing the sign raised goose pimples on his skin. He’d been there many a time in his childhood. It was almost his second home. Looking the building over he saw that the windows still had the old homemade decorations up that he and his friends used to make fun of when they were young. He felt bad about it now what with Grandma being retired and all. They’d just been a bunch of stupid little kids looking for something to pick on and the store had unfortunately been it. The little old lady everyone called Grandma, who was the owner, used to take the time each year to decorate just so she could help get everyone into the spirit of whichever holiday it was. Since the store only did local business she’d made the decorations herself to save a little money. They were nothing fancy, just enough to remind everyone there was a holiday and what one it was. Shaking his head he walked up to the door.
Hesitantly he opened the door and stepped inside. He couldn’t help but smile as the door let out a squeal of protest. It had always done that. No matter how much oil was put on it, it still squealed. Taking a few steps forward so the door could close he heard the floorboards groan like an old man under his weight. That was slightly new. They used to make noise but not so much. Of course he had gained some weight since the last time he’d been here so maybe that was it. The place was still the same, he thought looking around, seeing familiar little knick knacks hung here and there.
When he was little it’d been a simple little store where people were always welcomed like family. He hoped whoever ran the place now still kept that same type of atmosphere. It would be a shame if it was gone. It seemed like all the places now were just out to make a buck and screw the guy they were getting it from. Nobody ever took the time to just talk and ask you how you were doing and if they did you knew they didn’t care about your answer. Luckily it seemed Grandma’s hadn’t lost that homey feeling. So far the only thing he could see that was actually different was the selection of products. There were a lot more brand names being displayed than he remembered. The shelves were literally packed. Everything one might need seemed to be able to be found here, which was a good thing since one of the big stores was moving in. If Grandma’s didn’t keep up it would soon find itself going out of business.
The smell of dust hung in the air just as he remembered. He could actually see little pieces of it floating in the stray light. Seeing that he guessed the sun was making a try at coming out today. Just coming to this place seemed to have lightened his mood. He didn’t want dark and dreary anymore. Following the light to where it shone he saw that the floor was still just a bunch of mismatched boards that looked like they were replaced on an as needed basis. Over the years this type of repair seemed to have been done many times if what he saw was any indication. From the looks of it some had been done recently.
Shaking his head with a happy contentment Jim wondered when they would finally break down and replace the whole floor and maybe even the building. They might eventually try to catch up with the times, but he doubted it. He actually hoped they didn’t. This place was part of his childhood and he didn’t want to see it changed one bit. He didn’t think he had to worry about it considering the pace of the town and the people that lived in it. They would probably always stay a few years behind the rest of the world. Nothing had changed in over twelve years so it probably wouldn’t change for at least another twelve if whoever ran things now had anything to say about it. Thinking things like that used to bother him. He used to think the town was useless and wanted out of it as soon as possible. Now he could almost see himself coming to enjoy a place like this.
Jim’d almost finished his reminiscing when he finally noticed one other thing that had changed since he’d left. He should have noticed it before this. Especially since it was staring at him like he was possessed. The person behind the counter was no longer a little, hunched over old lady; now there was a beautiful woman. A woman Jim had never seen before. And here he was just standing there looking off into space like he was the village idiot.
His mother had mentioned Grandma retiring but she didn’t tell him who’d taken over in her place. Seeing her now he wished she had. Jim found himself very pleasantly surprised and yet felt stupid at the same time. He’d been looking around not thinking he might be being watched himself. Trying to look as if he had come in for some purpose he smiled sheepishly and stepped to a shelf and began looking. He stole a glimpse towards the register and found she was still looking at him. Knowing that his ruse hadn’t worked he decided to just go explain what he had been doing.
Walking towards her Jim couldn’t see too much. She was sitting down with most of her body out of view but he guessed her height to be about five two give or take a few inches. Her long, dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail that gave her a young look but not a childish one. Quite the opposite in fact. It made her look like an adult who wasn’t afraid to show that she liked to have a little fun now and then. Overall he had to say he liked it. A lot. As he approached she suddenly looked up. He was embarrassed to have been caught staring at her so openly but he couldn’t make himself look away. As cliche as it sounded he was trapped by her eyes. They were the clearest blue he’d ever seen. Oceans couldn’t compare. Her gaze left him speechless. With a great effort, but not really wanting too, he finally was able to look away.
When he finally reached her he bashfully looked up and saw a wary look in her eye and a grim edge around her eyes. From it he guessed she’d seen both good times and bad in her life and didn’t know what category he might fit under. It was a look he hoped he’d never see again after she got to know him. He felt stupid standing there like an idiot but he couldn’t help it. It wasn’t exactly the first impression but it would have to do. If he’d known someone like her was going to be there he might’ve done things differently but knowing him it probably would’ve happened about the same. He’d never done well with women. He’d been ok when he was younger, but something seemed to have happened when he graduated high school and went out into the real world. He just had no luck. He was trying to think of something clever to say so he could end the problem of him looking like a fool when he realized she’d already asked him something.
"Huh?" he said dumbly, "I mean, could you repeat that? I didn’t quite hear you."
"I said, Hi! My name’s Jill and this is my store,” she said still a little wary. “I also asked if I could help you with anything." She still wasn’t looking too sure of how to handle him. At least he was talking now and not just staring off into space. That was good. He guessed if someone came into the place he worked and just stood there staring at him he would probably be acting the same way.
"No, not really," he said leaning on the counter trying to put her at ease. It didn’t seem to be working. "I'm just kinda reminiscing about my childhood." Seeing his words weren’t helping much he quickly added "I grew up around here. My friends and I used to come here all the time when someone else was behind the counter." As he finished he tried a tentative smile to let her know he wasn’t some maniac but it probably just made things worse. He wasn’t doing too well. The one time he actually wanted to make a good impression and he was doing abysmally. She was still looking at him like he belonged more in an insane asylum than a store. He didn’t know what else to do. Maybe it would be better if he just left and came back later when his feet weren’t in his mouth.
"When we were little we used to come here all the time,” he said trying again and ignoring common sense. “A little old lady everybody called Grandma would sell us penny candy and let us read whatever the newest comics she had." He pointed first at the candy that was still kept behind the counter and then at the comic book rack over in the corner trying to illustrate his point. All the while he was talking he kept throwing little smiles into what he was saying. Thinking about how he probably looked he could just imagine what was going through her head. She most likely wanted to call the cops and tell them she needed a little help with someone that was touched in the head. Just as he was about to finally listen to the little voice telling him to shut up he noticed something had changed about her face. As he’d spoke about Grandma her features began to soften. By the time he’d finished there he could actually see a tiny smile.
"Well,” she said blowing out the pent up breath she’d obviously been holding, “now I understand why you were kinda in a daze when you first walked in. At east it makes a little more sense.” Laughing slightly she continued, "I was beginning to think you were a little touched in the head or some idiot depriving his village."
"No, nothing like that," Jim said reassuring her. He was right! She did think he was weird. Great, now he had to do a lot of work to get her to change her mind. Turning his thoughts back to what he’d been talking about he continued. "I was just surprised to find someone other than Grandma sitting behind the counter. I was so used to seeing her it just caught me off guard seeing you. My mom said something about Grandma retiring but I guess it kinda went in one ear and out the other. I was still expecting to see her when I came in.” She looked like she bought everything he was saying which was good since it was pretty much the truth. He hadn’t really thought about who would be sitting in Grandma’s place. Seeing a good looking woman there had just compounded his confusion. “I've been gone for a long time,” he continued, “but I guess old habits die hard. I was actually hoping to see her again but my mother didn’t say much else about her. I’d kinda like to see her but I don’t know where she lived. Too bad though, I really missed her." He knew exactly where she lived but Jill didn’t need to know that. He was just trying to figure out some way to make sure the conversation continued until he could direct to something else. He didn’t want to just say hi, bye and leave. He wanted to get to know her a lot better and if the only way he could find to do it was to talk about Grandma well, he would take it. It would surely eventually lead to another topic. He just had to wait. He actually felt slightly foolish jabbering on and on the way he was but she didn’t seem to mind. In fact she seemed to like it. After telling her a little about what he and his friend used to do in the store he finally finished saying all he could think of so he grinned sheepishly and shut his mouth.
"Got it all out now?" she joked. He just shook his head feeling a little more foolish than he had. He knew he’d been blabbering, he’d just hoped she hadn't noticed. "Now after all that stuff you said I’m happy to tell you that Grandma is still alive and as ornery as she ever was. I should know, I'm Grandma's granddaughter.” She paused to let him take that little bit in. The surprise must have registered on his face since she smiled a little wider as she continued. “She still comes in every now and then to say hi. Heck, you might even see her today.” Seeing her beaming face Jim figured he might not have messed up as bad as he thought, maybe things were looking up.
"Well, that sure is good news,” he said keeping the conversation going. “It’s good to hear she’s still around." He remembered hearing Grandma speak once or twice about having a granddaughter but she’d always quickly changed the subject when somebody asked about her. It seemed to make her sad; the little girl had never come to visit. Nobody had ever even seen so much as a picture of her. Then again that wasn’t surprising since Grandma wasn’t one to go broadcasting her personal life to everyone. She welcomed you into her store and was nice to you while you were there and if she saw you on the street but that was about it. So, now after all these years of only hearing a word here and there about the girl he finally got to meet her. Jim had to say, she had been well worth the wait.
"So," she said when he didn’t immediately say anything else, "I told you my name. Now is usually the part when you tell me yours. Then we talk and get to know each other and soon we’re old friends and everybody lives happily ever after."
"Oh, sorry,” he said feeling like a humungous dork. He was acting like he’d never talked to a girl before. He didn’t understand what was going on. Whenever he tried to speak everything just came out wrong. Whatever it was maybe it would go away if he kept talking. “My name’s Jim Collins," he said trying to get more comfortable. "Like I said a few minutes ago, I grew up right down the road from here. We, I mean my friends and I, used to come in here almost every day. But once I was old enough to leave I did just that. I left and haven't really been back for about twelve years." After talking for a few minutes he felt better. At least he wasn’t staring at her all moon-eyed like he had been anymore.
"So, what brought you back now?" she asked nudging him along.
"Well, unfortunately I had to come back for a funeral. One of my friends died." Everything had been going good until now. He’d almost let himself forget why he was here. Now it all just came crashing back in.
"I'm sorry," she said obviously caught a little off guard. "Are you alright?”
“Yeah, it’s just a little hard whenever I think about it,” he said. “Talking to you helped me put it aside for a few minutes.”
“Well, if you need to talk or something just let me know,” she said sounding concerned. He couldn’t believe it. Most people now a days didn’t care about other people and here she was, someone he had just met and she was acting like they were old friends. She was there with a shoulder to cry on so to speak. That was just another thing to like about her. “I guess I should also say sorry for being so blunt when you first came in,” she added looking a little embarrassed. “It was just, you know, I'd never seen you before and when you came in you looked a little funny and whatnot, then when you didn’t answer me right away after I said something to you I thought you might be some kind of weirdo tourist or something. Maybe even worse. Now look, I've gone and been blunt and came right out and asked you why you were here like you didn’t have any kind of right to be here or something. Now I feel like maybe I’m the weirdo. This first meeting of ours isn't going to good is it?" she finished laughing nervously. He knew exactly how she felt. They were both babbling like a couple of little school kids. The meeting wasn’t actually as bad as she thought though. True, it was one of the strangest he’d ever had, but also one of the best ever too. Still, he couldn’t tell her that. She was the one that was nervous now. The shoe was on the other foot now. His slightly morbid reason for being there had probably been the cause but then again maybe it was something else. That is if he were lucky which he probably wasn’t.
"It's ok, calm down," he said reassuring her. "Like I said, I probably did look a little funny just standing there and don’t worry about all the questions. This is your place. If somebody was standing in my store staring off into space I think I’d ask a few questions too. The way you acted was about the same thing I probably would’ve done. Actually I probably would’ve done worse."
"Well, be that as it may,” she said, the look of concern returning to her face, “I'm still real sorry about your friends’ death. I’m guessing it was Tommy you were talking about by the way. It shouldn’t surprise me though that I see people I don’t know. Tommy sure did seem to know a lot of people. It is all kinda strange though. Nobody’s ever died like that around here from what I’ve heard. Everybody’s real shook up about it. It’s sad how you can be here one day and then gone the next."
"Yeah it really caught me off guard too. My mom called and woke me up from this weird dream I was having. As soon as I heard what she said I was right back out.” Seeing her puzzled look, he continued. “I passed out right there in my room. When I woke up I came right home as quick as I could. It was almost like I was trying to get here so I didn’t miss my chance to say goodbye to him or something. I hadn’t seen him in a long time. Now I won’t ever again.” He was almost talking to himself towards the end. Looking up he saw that Jill looked like she wanted to do more than just stand there listening but wasn’t sure if she should. “I guess it was about time for me to come back I just wish it hadn't been for something like this," he finished with a bitter smile.
They stood quietly for a moment before Jim spoke again and changed the subject. Trying to get on a happier note he asked her a little bit about herself. Standing there listening he couldn’t help but notice how pretty she was. The way the light shone on her hair, the way she moved her hands when she spoke. Everything about her made him want to get to know her more and more. He was so wrapped up in what she was doing that he almost missed what she was saying. From what she told him she’d been there for about two and a half to three years. She wasn’t sure since when she’d got there, she mostly been running away from a bad marriage. Her grandmother offered her a place to stay while she got things sorted out. Lucky for Jim, she had eventually divorced and her grandmother asked her to stay and help run the store. A few months later Grandma announced she was retiring and letting Jill have the place. Ever since then Jill had been here. She finished her story and closed her mouth as if she couldn’t believe she had told him so much.
Before she had a chance to think too much about it and just before Jim opened his mouth to say something else the front door slam open and a shout rang out that sent spike of terror through his body and mad him break out in an instant sweat.
"Put your hands in the air and don’t move!" the yeller ordered.
Jill’s face looked as if it had turned to ice. Her features were frozen in disbelief. Jim was similarly frozen. Of all his luck to be in the store with the woman of his dreams in a small town and have the damn place get robbed. He had luck all right; too bad it was all bad.
Jim heard the door slam shut and listened to the floor boards moaning as the intruder stomped his way towards them. Looking to Jill for some sign of what to expect he saw that she was still frozen by terror. Well if nothing else they would both be robbed for the first time together. Not an ideal first date. Hopefully he made it out alive so he could at least ask her out on a real one. It surprised him he was still clear headed enough to think about things like asking her out. Unfortunately that seemed to be the only thing he could think about. He stood there waiting to find out what would happen next. Surely the person wouldn’t just shoot them; he must have demands of some sort. Heart pounding in his chest, he felt someone move up and come to a stop behind his back a lot closer than he would’ve liked. His stomach tightening into a knot of dread he wanted nothing more than to spin around and turn the tables on the would be robber but knew that if he even tried he or Jill would probably be killed. He wished the person would at least say something. His mind was raced through all the possible scenarios he could think of that would get them out of this situation. Unfortunately everything he came up with ended with them both dead.
The person was still behind him. Jim took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He had to take stock of the situation they were in. Trying to put everything else out of his mind he thought about everything as calmly as he could. First, he’d just met who he considered the girl of his dream. Next, just as they were getting to know each other somebody decided they absolutely had to rob the store they were in and unfortunately there was nothing he could think of to do about it. Then the last and maybe most important thing, he was pretty sure they were both about to die. All in all he figured his day had gone from great to shit in about five seconds. That was probably a new record for him.
He was startled from his panicked thoughts and almost pissed himself when he felt something poke him between the shoulder blades. He wasn’t an expert about how thing that poke you in the back feel but he was pretty sure the thing poking his back was a gun. What else could it be? Nobody was going to rob the place with a banana were they? As sure as he was he was, equally sure he was just about to die. At least he hadn’t pissed himself a few minutes ago and embarrassed himself in front of Jill. He didn’t want her last thoughts of him to be his inability to control his bladder. The assailant started breathing heavily in his ear causing the hair to stand up on the back of his neck. Jim unfortunately still had no idea of what to do.
"Put your hands on the counter," grated a voice in his ear. Well, if nothing else he knew what to do. And he quickly did it. Surprisingly the gun was immediately removed from where it had been poking him. But what happened next was worse than the gun had ever been. Hands began running up and down the sides of his body. They weren’t gentle either. After a few seconds of being searched they came to a rest on his hips. Visions of horny robbers raping him in front of Jill ran rampant through his head. He couldn’t allow that to happen! But the guy had a gun. If Jim tried to stop him he would just pull it out and shoot him. Indecision kept him immobile.
The robber seemed to be taking his time exploring Jim’s waist. Hands moved from one side to the other as if searching for a way in. Eventually they stumbled across the buckle on Jim’s belt and started to work on that. Jim wanted to turn around and scream in the guy’s face and ask him what his problem was but the guy would most likely flip out if he did something like that. Jim was tempted to do it anyways. Anything had to be better than what was most likely going to happen if he did nothing at all. Then a new thought entered his head. What if there were two of them. True he’d only thought he’d heard one person enter but what if the other guy was covering them while the first guy did his thing? Then after he’d had his way with Jim they would switch. Jill would have to watch the whole thing! Jim’s life was over. The gun wasn’t in his back anymore but he actually wished it was. At least then he wouldn’t be getting ready to be raped.
The one time he was present when a store got robbed and the robber turned out to have a hard on for him. This was really just not his day. The breathing near his ear was getting faster. The freak must be getting excited. He heard the rapist licking his lips with a wet slimy sound that made Jim’s skin crawl. The hands were still wrestling with the belt but not for long. He was surprised it hadn’t opened yet. It wasn’t like it was a safe or something. Maybe the guy just wasn’t good with these types of things. Good at robbing people, bad about opening other people’s pants. It could happen. An intake of breath behind him signaled that the assailant was about to say something. Jim expected to hear a demand for him to take the belt off himself or for him to do something much more vulgar but instead he heard a snicker. Not understanding what he’d heard the next thing the thief said left no doubt in his mind as to what was going on.
"Gotcha buddy boy!" laughed the voice behind him. The person seemed to be having a hard time keeping himself from laughing. After a few seconds with Jim only just now realizing what had happened, a loud braying burst of laughter burst out behind him. Jim couldn’t believe it. He looked at Jill to see her reaction and found, instead of a look of horror like he’d expected, a smile. The thought was now really sinking in that something wasn’t quite right about this whole situation. Whoever it was behind him obviously found this extremely funny since the laughter continued and actually got a little louder.
Slowly turning around, half expecting to be shot, he was surprised to see somebody dressed up as a police officer bent over laughing so hard he was almost choking. The man slowly started recovering, trying hard to repress new bouts of laughter, and stood up. As he did Jim came face to face with the last person he expected to see. Standing not three feet away with a red, tear streaked face was his childhood friend Rob.
"Oh, you should have seen your face!" Rob said still trying to hold in the laughter that was bubbling out of him.
Jim wanted to be angry but he couldn’t do it. He was too happy to see Rob for it to work. Instead he said the only thing that came to mind. “Ha, ha real funny dickhead. Is this the only reason you became a cop? So you could scare the shit out of us little people?”
“Hell no!” he replied before the words were even done coming out of Jim’s mouth, “That’s only a fringe benefit. I also get free food at some of the restaurants once in a while. Oh yeah and some of the tourists come up with some interesting thing to get out of tickets if you know what I mean. If you only knew some of the things I’ve seen,” he finished with a wink and a wicked grin. Jim just looked at him for a minute not quite sure how serious he was. Seeing his look just made Rob smile all the wider. He wiggled his eyebrows to make Jim wonder a little more but all that did was make him laugh. Shaking his head Jim turned his attention back to Jill who seemed to have found something that just absolutely had to be done right now behind the counter. Instead of seeing her beautiful face he got quite an eyeful of her butt. And a nice one it was if someone were to ask him. She was bending over looking at something on the floor underneath the shelves of candy. Jim was about to say something when Rob loudly cleared his throat. Sensing something wasn’t quite right and not hearing any talking Jill quickly spun around and caught Jim staring at the area where her previously exposed backside had been. Having no other choice but to admit he’d been caught Jim just smiled at her with red cheeks.
“Like what you see?” she asked slyly.
“You could say that,” he fired right back taking up the silent challenge.
That seemed to catch her off guard. He was getting good at saying things that threw her off. It was her turn to have red cheeks. Something else important must’ve needed her attention since she quickly ducked back down behind the counter. Sounds of things being moved around could be heard from the general area.
“So I guess you came back cause of Tommy, huh?” Rob said snagging Jim’s attention once Jill wasn’t in sight to distract him.
“Yeah, that’s about the size of it,” Jim sighed, “but, ya know, there’s a few other things I’m starting to find interesting around here. The scenery wasn’t as nice around here when I left. I was planning on leaving right after Tommy was buried but I might end up sticking around a little longer just for the view.” He knew he was acting like a high school kid but he still hoped Jill was listening. He was pretty sure she was. It felt a little awkward flirting with somebody when he was supposed to be mourning but he didn’t think Tommy would mind. Hell, he would probably have been encouraging him if he were there. Jim was pretty sure Jill was at least a little interested but he wasn’t as positive as he usually liked to be before asking someone out so he figured dropping a few hints every now and then couldn’t hurt anything. Jill stood up and gave him a queer look before her cheeks started turning red again. She quickly turned and began looking like she was taking an inventory of the candy on the shelves.
“Yeah,” Rob said picking up his line of thought, “there sure are some pretty nice sights to see around here. You gotta be careful of them though,” he continued with a wink in Jim’s direction, “they can be pretty dangerous sometimes. There’s all kinds of curves you gotta watch out for. Some of them are sharp but some of them are smooth too. They can also be a little snoopy too sometimes if you know what I mean. Didn’t used to be a lot of stuff like that in this town, but just recently in the last couple of years the scenery finally took a turn. I mean, not that I’ve had a chance to appreciate it too much.”
“Yeah, when I left it pretty much sucked around here,” Jim said starting up right where Rob left off, “but from what I’ve seen since I’ve been back it’s changed quite a bit. For the better if you ask me.”
Jill looked over her shoulder to where they stood for a minute shook her head and went back to her make believe inspection. She mumbled something under her breath about men thinking they were so clever making innuendos that they didn’t think women understood and something else about how they weren’t as smart as they thought they were. Glancing back and fixing them with another slightly disapproving stare she returned to looking busy again.
“So,” Jim said to Rob after a few more seconds of watching Jill, “what’s this I’ve been hearing about Tommy’s death not being as cut and dry as everybody thought.” Seeing Rob’s reluctant look he quickly added, “Look, I know you don’t want to talk about it but I really need to know. He was my friend too. I’m going to miss him but if this was anything other than a horrible accident I need to know.” He didn’t want Rob getting into any trouble for telling him specific details about the case but if there was something fishy going on he thought somebody, especially somebody as close to the deceased as he’d been, should know. Unfortunately Rob was the only source he could get that information from.
“Boy, you don’t hold back do you? Just jump right on in with both feet without the hip waders don’t you?” Rob asked shaking his head. When Jim didn’t respond right away he took that as a sign to continue. “Well, let me start by saying you don’t know the half of what’s going on. If you’d seen the things I have you wouldn’t be asking a fella to describe it to you.” Jim watched him as he spoke. It was as if an invisible veil passed over his face turning everything somber just thinking about Tommy. Jim didn’t like forcing Rob like this but if it upset him this much just thinking about it than obviously something bad was going on. After stopping for a few seconds to collect himself Rob signaled his readiness to continue with a slight smile and spoke up in an official sounding voice, “As you know I’m not supposed to talk about official police business with civilians but sometimes there are special cases.” He was trying to cover his pain by joking around but it didn’t fool anyone. Least of all Jim. He’d known him too long. Rob was acting like the big tough guy because of who their audience was. Jill was still near at the register. If she hadn’t been he’d probably have started blubbering like a little baby as soon as he started talking.
“Now with that official disclaimer having been said,” Rob continued in his big boy voice as he glanced over his shoulder making sure nobody else was in the store he might have missed, “I might as well tell you everything anyways since I know I’m going too eventually. Might as well get it over with sooner rather than later. I could never keep a secret from you, huh?” When they’d been little he’d never been able to keep secrets. At least from Jim. Every time Rob tried to keep something from them it had always been Jim he’d eventually told. Jim never even had to ask. It was like he needed to confess and Jim was the preacher. Rob never went to any of the others, just Jim. Now was no different. It was funny how they’d fallen right back into the old ways just like the past twelve years had never happened.
“You know that he was impaled right?” Rob finally blurted after a few seconds of silence. Jim told him that was what he’d heard yesterday when he was walking around town and saw Rob stand up a little straighter. It was like a great weight had been lifted form his shoulders.
“Good,” he said with that sad little smile, “at least I wasn’t the one to tell you that part of it.” Rob stopped again and looked like he was thinking about what he wanted to say. There must’ve been a lot of information because it took a few seconds before he finally seemed ready to spill the story.
“It was real strange,” he began looking Jim right in the eye. “The moment we got out to where it all went down we could tell something just wasn’t right. It was almost as if something about the air was telling us to go back. That we didn’t want to see what was waiting for us in the woods. I myself wish we’d have listened to whatever it was. I don’t think I’ll ever forget what we saw out there.” Pausing again Jim could see Rob’s shoulders shudder at the memory. Jim wanted him to hurry up and tell the story but kept his mouth shut. If he pushed him he might not get anything at all. After a few seconds pause Rob started again.
“It was just getting dark and we were beginning to think we weren’t going to be able to find the place Tommy’s body was waiting for us at when suddenly we were there. After walking through some bushes and around this one huge tree we found it. Actually we almost walked right into him. After seeing what had happened we all wished it had been darker than it actually was. I wish I hadn’t seen it as well as I did. It just got worse once they brought the lights out, but luckily I wasn’t there anymore by that point. Anyway, Tommy was stuck right on the end of a tree just like we’d been told. Right through his chest.” Rob pointed at his chest as if to illustrate his point. “He must’ve somehow flipped over in the air or something because he was laying face up with the point coming from right between his ribs. It went straight through his back and out his front. Parts of his ribs were actually sticking out. There was blood all over the place. The leaves looked as if someone had taken a bucket of red paint and thrown it everywhere. I actually got a little sick and had to run off in the woods so I didn’t contaminate the scene or anything. After the initial shock of seeing his body wore off the next thing we noticed was where his stand was located in relation to his body. It was at least twenty feet away. That definitely wasn’t right. Tommy could’ve fallen from a tree and landed the way he had but in order for him to have landed on the tree he did he would’ve had to jump. Everything we saw just on a first glance was strange enough, but we were only half finished. The next thing we found after looking for a few minutes was…” Rob abruptly stopped as the door squealed opened announcing the arrival of someone. Jim cursed whoever it was before he even saw them. Rob wouldn’t finish his story with someone else there. It was bad enough he and Jill were hearing what was said. Rob couldn’t risk another person knowing the whole story.
The door finished its opening swing and begun its closing when the last person he wanted to see strutted in as if she owned the place. Maria looked from side to side like a dog searching for a scent before finally settling on Jim. When she saw him at the counter she immediately started walking towards him.
“Hi Jim!” she practically squealed as she pushed Rob out of the way. “I didn’t know you’d be here!” He was sure she’d known exactly where he was ever since he’d passed the restaurants on his way in to town. Why else would she be here? Looking over her shoulder at Rob for help only got him shrugged shoulders and fingers pantomiming the universal signal for craziness. Jim stifled his laugher by quickly coughing into his hand. Maria, seeing that she wasn’t getting his full attention spun around and almost caught Rob in the act of making fun of her. Luckily he grabbed a box from the shelf next to him before he was completely caught. Unfortunately he hadn’t looked at what he was grabbing. Seeing what rob was holding caused Jim to have to stifle another bout of laughter.
Jim knew a lot of things had changed since he’d left but he didn’t know Rob had had a sex change. The box he’d grabbed was for tampons and he was intently studying the directions for their use. At the sound of Jim’s half cough half laughter Rob looked up trying to act as if he’d just noticed that Maria was there. She just looked at him with a slightly raised eyebrow.
“Hey Maria! How’s it going?” Rob asked brightly.
“Oh, I’m fine but you look don’t look to well.” She said sarcastically. “Have you gained weight? You look like you might be retaining a little water. Is your monthly friend here for a visit?” Maria seemed to enjoy Rob’s confusion.
“No, not really,” Rob began before noticing what he held. Once he did Jim was surprised he didn’t drop it. He visibly turned a brighter shade of red then quickly said, “I, uh, need to go look at something over there.” Then quickly moved to the spot his pointing finger was indicating.
“Yes, you do that,” Maria said with a catty smile as she turned back to Jim.
“Hi Maria,” Jim said quickly feeling like he was caught in the cats’ claws. He wanted to get this unfortunate meeting over with as soon as possible. He still had stuff to find out from Rob then there was also the problem with working up the courage to ask Jill out. He hadn’t planned on doing it but seeing Maria the idea had suddenly seemed like a very good one. The only way to get past Maria and be able to do those things was to jump right in with both feet and hope it wouldn’t get to painful. “I was just talking to Rob here about old times. Haven’t seen him in a while, you know.” The look on her face told him she wasn’t buying any of what he was saying. The conversation had already gone on longer than he’d wanted it too and she hadn’t even said anything. Maybe if he kept talking she never would so he continued. “We were just trying to catch up a little before he had to go back to work. He was just telling me about the people still living in the area and some stuff about what had changed since I left. Hopefully he doesn’t have to be back at work too soon. I’d really like to talk to him a little more if he does.” He was hoping Rob was listening and would come to his rescue but apparently that wasn’t going to happen. He must have been scared off by his earlier confrontation.
Jim knew he wasn’t being extremely polite but he wanted to get rid of her as fast as possible so he could find out what else Rob had to say. Just before they were interrupted he was sure he was about to tell him something important.
“Was there, uh, something I could help you with?” he asked trying to prod her into getting to the reason why she’d come searching for him.
“I was just wondering if you were ok,” she answered sweetly. “I also wanted to ask if you needed anything or if maybe, you’d thought anymore about getting together. I’m here for you whenever you want me.” She put an emphasis on ‘want’ and he was sure it wasn’t by accident. Jim didn’t know what to do about the whole situation. He was slightly embarrassed. She was practically throwing herself at him in front of both Rob and Jill. It would be bad enough if it they were alone but this was ridiculous. “We could even do it tonight if you wanted,” she said pulling him from his internal debate.
“Do what?” he sputtered hoping she hadn’t suggested what he thought she had.
“Why, go out silly. What else would I be talking about?”
“I don’t know,” he said, “I wasn’t really paying attention.” Going out with her was exactly the last thing he wanted to do tonight. Even if Tommy’s funeral hadn’t been set for the next day he still wouldn’t want to do anything with her. There was just something about her that gave him the creeps. The problem was he couldn’t think of a nice way to tell her to go away. He’d be happy if she never thought of him again but knew that was too much to hope for. Jim wasn’t good with words and saying something like that in a nice way was beyond him. On the other hand he could always be mean but that wasn’t really an option either. He just wasn’t a mean person. He thought that she’d gotten the hint yesterday but apparently not.
“Actually Jim and I already made plans to go out, right Jim?” a feminine voice chimed out behind him. Looking around to see who his savior was he was happily surprised to see Jill smiling wickedly in Maria’s direction. He didn’t know exactly why she was doing it but he wasn’t going to complain. That took care of two problems at once actually. Hopefully Maria would leave him alone. He also didn’t have to figure out how to get a date with Jill. She just made it.
“Yeah, that’s right we sure did,” he said after recovering from his initial surprise. Jill had given him the out he was looking for and he wasn’t about to waste it. It wasn’t the politest way to go about it but, oh well. Maria looked as if she was about to jump over the counter and scratch Jill’s eyes out. He could almost see her bristling. Maybe now it would finally get through her skull that he wasn’t going to go out with her.
Maria’s cheeks reddened as what had happened sank all the way in. After a few seconds of gathering her emotions, she gave Jill a scathing look, and said in a strained voice, “Oh, how silly of me. I didn’t know you liked her kind.” What she meant by her kind Jim had no idea. Maybe sane was the word she was looking for. “Well, I guess I won’t bother you anymore. Maybe some other time before you leave then.” Before turning and making her way to the door. She purposefully brushed Jim as she went by. He didn’t know what she hoped to accomplish by doing it but she almost knocked herself over. She must’ve thought he would move out of her way.
Grasping the handle of the door she looked back at their little group and said with a smile, “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at the funeral.” Then she was gone with only the violently slamming door to say she’d been there.
He knew she was mad but her last comment made Jim think. He again got the feeling she was taking some perverse pleasure out of this whole situation. He had to be wrong though. She’d been one of Tommy’s friends too. They’d grown up in the same town and gone to the same school with him. She acted like they hadn’t even known each other but they must have. There was almost no way they couldn’t have. Tommy had stayed here while Jim had left so they must’ve at least seen each other once in a while. Why was she acting like this? His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud outburst behind him.
“Woo-ooo!” Rob whooped. “I’d say she’s got the hots for you big time brother!” Rob obviously found the whole situation funny. Jim wondered how he’d be acting if the shoe was on the other foot. He was about to ask but Rob beat hi to it. “Looks like Jimmy-boy has a not so secret admirer.”
“Shut up dickhead!” Jim said left with no other rebuttal but a childish one. What he had been thinking of saying wasn’t the sort of thing that was polite to say in front of a woman.
Rob face turned sad as he tried looking offended but he wasn’t able to pull it off very well. When you were as big of a smartass as he was, and everybody knew it, there was very little you could get away with (his feelings being hurt by someone calling him a name wasn’t exactly something that was going to make him cry). Jim didn’t know how Rob had ever succeeded in becoming a cop. He must be a good actor. Jim decided to ignore him instead of saying anything else. Maybe that would teach him a lesson. He instead turned his attention back to Jill.
“Well,” he said trying to sound calm, “it would appear you and I have a date tonight.” He really hoped she hadn’t just been saying everything just to help him out of an awkward situation. Jim heard Rob making what sounded like kissing noises behind his back trying to get his attention but he wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of distracting him by turning around and yelling at him. If he did Rob might think he’d won their little battle. Jim couldn’t allow that.
After a few seconds of being ignored Rob finally figured out that it wasn’t working. He mumbled something about some people in the room being too emotional and picked up another box of something he probably shouldn’t have. Jim continued to ignoring him.
“Yes we do have a date,” Jill said hesitating a little bit. She didn’t sound like she really wanted one. Jim was about to say something to let her know she didn’t have to follow through when she spoke again. “That is if you want one. I was just trying to help out. Although, I did think this was as good a way as any to get a date with you.”
“Really!” he said sounding a lot less cooler than he’d wanted. “I mean, uh, don’t worry about that. I was actually going to ask you out before I left I’m just a little, you know, a little on the shy side.” How could she think he wouldn’t want to go out with her? Had the woman never looked in a mirror? He’d just about been drooling on her since the first moment he saw her.
Jim was drawn out of his daydream by the sound of Rob. He was back to his mumbling again. He’d been doing it since he’d figured out he was being ignored but every now and then he spoke a little louder to let Jim know he was still there. Jim heard him say he had to get back to work and realized he needed to hurry up. Rob still had things to tell him. The rest of the comments were just mild threat about people needing to recognize who was in charge or else they’d get thrown in jail. Jim could tell he was getting upset that his taunts weren’t having the desired effect. Rob loved being the center of attention so when you ignored him it drove him batty. Do it long enough and he’d just about start foaming at the mouth.
Jim figured a little while longer wouldn’t hurt him but he did need to hurry. There was only so much he would take. If they were lucky Rob would learn it’s not nice to tease people, but Jim doubted it. Trying to speed things up without being obvious he asked Jill what she wanted to do and talked about a few other menial things for a few more seconds before Rob finally popped.
“Alright you two lovebirds. I need to get back to work,” he announced grumpily. “Being an officer of the law is an important job and I’ve got some, uh, important stuff to get back too.”
“Well, I guess we shouldn’t keep you from those important things that are waiting for you,” Jill said teasingly. “What were they again?”
“It must be awfully hard being a great, big important policeman like you,” Jim said joining in.
“You must have a lot of important parking tickets to write,” Jill said through giggles.
“And important old ladies to help across the street,” Jim continued.
“Oh wait! I got it!” Jill squealed, “He has to go catch all the bank robbers running around town.”
Robb was turning quite a few different shades of red by this time. Jim was surprised he hadn’t stormed out of the shop already. At least that part of him had changed.
“You’re not funny you two!” Rob whined, “My job IS important! I don’t have time to stand around jawing with you two all day. I do have a lot of important stuff to do. Even if I can’t think what it is right now.” Rob looked like he could bite the head off a nail right about then.
“Oh, just calm down a little ya big monkey,” Jim said thinking they may have pushed Rob too far. “Give me just a few more minutes and then we’ll both leave.”
He turned back and quickly found out Jill wanted him to meet her at the grocery store tonight at around seven when she closed up. He gave her a quick smile, said goodbye and caught up to Rob just as he was about to stalk out the door. Jim waved to Jill once more before he and Rob made their way outside.
Rob was still a little upset so they walked in silence while Jim gave him time to get in a better mood. He needed Rob happy and willing to talk. He didn’t need him wanting to bite his head off.
“So,” he began tentatively after a few minutes, “what were you going to say about Tommy back there before we were so rudely interrupted?”
“Oh yeah,” Rob said sounding a little better and not looking half as mad as he had, “I forgot we were talking about that before your girlfriend showed up.” He couldn’t resist throwing that little bit in. Jim guessed it was his way of getting back at him for earlier. He let it slide instead of saying anything and listened to Rob talk. “There was also that part where you and your other girlfriend started picking on me. Telling you stuff you wanted to know about kind of slipped my mind.” He was still a little ticked but Jim knew he wasn’t really mad. He was just trying to make Jim think he was. He only had to wait long enough for Rob to feel he’d gotten the better of him before he started talking again. It didn’t take as long as he thought it would.
“It was real strange out where everything happened,” Rob began quietly. “When we got there we all saw Tommy’s body on the tree like I said. You already know what happened after that but what you and everybody hasn’t heard is that the tree he fell on wasn’t just some old tree that fell over like the sheriff said. It’d been broken off sometime recently. Actually the sheriff said it looked more like it’d been cut. He thought, maybe somebody might’ve used an ax or something like that on it. We’ll have to wait for the experts to decide that one. Anyways, this tree he fell on stood about twenty feet away from the stand he was sitting in. Even if he’d jumped, which I and everyone else doubt, then he wouldn’t have made it that far. He would have needed to get a running start or something to make it that far.” He paused for a minute while Jim thought about what he’d said.
Rob was right; there was no possible way Tommy could’ve made it that far by himself. There was just no way. Deer stands were usually only about ten feet or so up and maybe a few feet wide. In order for Tommy to have jumped that far the thing would’ve need to be a lot higher and a lot wider than it was. He hadn’t seen Tommy for a while but he doubted he, much less anyone else, could’ve made a jump like that from his little stand. Jim found it easier to believe he’d fallen than that he’d jumped but neither made any sense. Rob was speaking again so Jim put those thoughts on hold. He was glad he did when he heard what else Rob had to say.
“Once everyone was done being sick and whatnot we started looking around. From what we could see with the body in the way the stump or whatever you want to call it was only sticking out of the ground about three or four feet. There was a lot of brush around it so if it hadn’t been for the thing sticking out of Tommy’s chest we probably all would’ve never seen it. With it looking like it was cut and that maybe somebody tried to hide it just makes things look a little strange. If nothing else it was in the perfect place for what it did. Unfortunately there were no signs of foul play that we could find and no signs of anyone else having been there. No foot prints, trash, broken branches, nothing.”
“So what makes the sheriff think he fell then?” Jim asked.
“Well, all the stuff he brought out with him was still sitting up in his stand where he’d left it for one thing. His gun, lunch, and a chair were just sitting there. If someone had come out there to rob him or something they would’ve surely taken that stuff. But it was all still there. Since there were no signs of anything else the sheriff says Tommy jumping was the only thing that could’ve happened.”
“There were no footprints on the ground or anything?” Jim asked. He was pretty sure they would’ve checked for something like that. Rob might’ve just forgotten to mention it.
“Wait a minute,” Rob said after thinking about it for a few seconds, “now that you mention it I think there were. I said before there weren’t but now after thinking about it for a few minutes I think maybe there were.” Jim’s hopes grew. Maybe this was the clue they needed to figure out what had really happened. Now there’s a lot they could do with a shoe print. Rob was just upset. He must’ve forgotten about them before. “But those were from other hunters who’d been through there that day.” Jim’s hopes crashed back down as he listened to his friend continue. “There were a few hunters that came through that area. Those were the prints we found. We questioned them but from what they say everything was just like it was any of a hundred other times they’d been there that morning. It was when they came back later on towards evening that everything was all messed up and bloody. They said the first thing they heard were the flies. Thinking it strange they decided to investigate. That’s when the smell hit them. After that they found the body then high tailed it out of there and called us.
“At first they thought it was a joke or that they might’ve drunk a little too much while they were out since they could’ve sworn he was floating in the air when they first saw him. Course that’s not what it was but that’s what it looked like, to them, at first. They said Tommy was just stuck to the tree and blood was splashed all over the place. Now they were overreacting a little bit. There wasn’t blood all over the place, it just looks that way.” Rob glanced at Jim to make sure he was following everything he was being told. Jim reassured him he understood that the old men were just a little drunk so anything they said had to be taken with a grain of salt. But that didn’t really matter too much. They were still right about Tommy being dead.
Rob kept looking around as if somebody was watching them. He was still worried someone would somehow find out about everything he was telling Jim. Rob didn’t come out and say he was uncomfortable but then he didn’t have to. Jim knew his friend even if they hadn’t hung out together in years. He didn’t want to push him into saying anything he would regret so he just stood silently waiting to see if Rob would continue.
“I really lost it when I saw who it was,” Rob began again after a few minutes. “I try not to think about it too much but I can’t help it. I keep seeing him there on that tree every time I close my eyes.” Rob seemed to be on the edge of tear but he pushed on like he wanted to get it all out at once. “Hell, listen to me. I can’t even say the damn word. I never thought about it before now but it’s a disgusting word. Whoever thought of it should have it done to them and see how they like it. Impaled. Gives me the willies just thinking about it. What’s worse is that’s probably how I’ll think of Tom for the rest of my life. Every time I hear someone say it or see it in a movie I’ll think of Tommy with that damn stick coming out his chest. I don’t want that.”
“I know you don’t think you did very well out there Rob but its ok,” Jim said gently trying to console him. “Heck, I don’t know what I would have done if I had seen it but from what you’ve told me you did just what Tommy would’ve expected you to do. You did your job. Tommy would’ve understood. Don’t beat yourself up about losing it. Tommy would’ve teased you sure, but you did what you had to. Just because you’re a policeman doesn’t mean you aren’t human. You probably never thought you’d have to see something like that when you signed on for this job anyway. Don’t think about how Tommy looked out there. Think about all the fun we had when we were kids and the things we did back then. Tommy might not be here anymore but he’s still with us on the inside for as long as we live.” Jim didn’t know what else to say. He grabbed Rob and hugged him and was relieved when he felt Rob return the hug. They stood there like that for a few minutes in the middle of the sidewalk, neither of them caring what anyone might think or say if they saw them.
Jim didn’t even want to think about what he might’ve done coming up on a horrific scene like that. “What did you mean there was blood all over the place?” he asked as they stepped back from each other.
“That’s not what I said,” Rob quickly replied, “I just told you what the guys hunting out there said it looked like when they first got there. I mean, from the way they tell it the place was a slaughter house. It wasn’t like that though. There was some blood on the bushes around the tree where Tommy fell and a few other places but the sheriff, along with the doc, figured it was just from him struggling to get off the thing jammed in his back. They said he finally just lost too much blood and fainted. A little while after that he died and that’s how we found him.” Rob looked a little greener than he had when he’d started his story but it couldn’t be helped. Jim didn’t like making him talk about stuff like this but unfortunately he needed to know and Rob seemed to understand.
They’d slowed their pace while they were talking but now resumed a more normal step. Jim was having a hard time believing everything he’d been told. Everything pointed to some kind of accident but he was still having a hard time believing that. Tommy just wasn’t the type who would fall out of a tree. It just didn’t sound like him. Jim had seen him climb one when he was half drunk one time without a problem so he just couldn’t understand how it could happen to the same guy when he was stone sober.
“Was there anything else that you saw out there that you haven’t told me about?” he asked hoping Rob would remember something that would make it all easier to accept.
Rob didn’t answer right away. He looked as if he’d recovered somewhat from his earlier description of the grizzly scene he’d witnessed but there was something else going on in his head. Jim didn’t know what it was but he had a feeling it was important especially since Rob was having a hard time looking him in the eye. He looked almost as if he was trying to decide whether to tell Jim anything else or not. Seeming to come to a decision he shrugged his shoulders slightly then began adding more to his story.
“Alright, there were other things out there,” he said almost too quiet for Jim to hear. “But you can’t tell anyone, and I mean anyone, you know about this stuff. Not even your mom. I mean it. This is stuff nobody else is supposed to know. Before I say anything else I want your word you won’t go spouting off to anyone who will listen and getting all excited about what I tell you. Don’t make any of it any bigger than what it is.” Jim made the promise and hoped he didn’t regret it later.
“Ok,” Rob said after being satisfied, “remember how I said the tree looked like it’d been cut? Well we found what was left of it a little ways off from Tommy’s stand. It was sorta buried under some bushes and fallen trees, kinda like someone hid it or something. You definitely wouldn’t have seen it when you walked up. The only reason we found it at all was because we were looking for stuff like that. You know, things that were out of place.” Rob watched Jim as he spoke as if at the first time Jim had a reaction he would quit speaking. When he saw Jim was about to ask a question he quickly continued before his first word could be uttered.
“I said it looked like it was hidden that doesn’t mean that it was. The sheriff said that it might have just fallen where we found it. It was close enough to the tree that it could’ve happened like that. It was just a little suspicious.” He said pausing to let what little he’d revealed sink in.
“Anything else?” Jim asked after a few minutes of waiting.
“Boy, you sure are in a hurry,” Rob said slowly almost like he was reluctant to continue. “I really didn’t want to bring this up but it doesn’t look like I have any choice now. Like I said I don’t you want getting all excited about anything but while we were looking around we found two other things that everybody thought were just a little out of place.”
“Well, what was it?” Jim asked impatiently.
“We found some hair and some prints,” he said quickly looking away.
“Is that it?” Jim asked. “Why were you afraid that I would get excited over something like that?” He didn’t understand what the big deal was. It was the woods. There was bound to be other types of prints out there and probably a lot of other types of hair as well what with all the animals running around back there. There were things like that in the woods last time he’d checked so it wasn’t very surprising to find hair and tracks. Humans weren’t the only things that walked the woods. Maybe that actually was what happened to Tommy. He’d been attacked by animal or something. Maybe a bear or some other big animal. It could’ve scared him which in turn caused him to fall out of his stand and onto the tree.
“You’re right,” Rob said, “Normally it wouldn’t be a big deal finding stuff like that out there but the things we found aren’t what you would usually find in.” He stopped talking again and took a deep breath. These dramatic pauses were really getting on Jim’s nerves. He wished Rob would just come out and say what he had to say. “We think the tracks belong to a goat. A big one. Since the tracks look like goats we’re guessing the hair belongs to one too. We aren’t sure yet but that’s what we’re looking at.”
Goat hair? Jim thought. What the hell would goat hair be doing out in the woods. He didn’t even think there were any goats anywhere near town much less out in the woods the only goat he could think of wasn’t even a real one. With that one thought he began to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Looking at Rob he saw that he had thought the same thing when he’d first seen the tracks. The greenish color had returned to his face.
“Now Jim, you’re thinking the same thing I did. But you and I both know it can’t be. That thing isn’t real. There’s no way it was the Goatman.” Rob didn’t really sound like he believed what he was saying. He sounded like he wanted Jim to agree with him and tell him he was right. But deep inside, they both knew.
“You’re right,” he heard himself say as he looked at Rob. “It can’t be him. That all happened a long time ago. It was all our imagination. Plus like you just said, it isn’t real. There is no such thing as the Goatman.” The creature’s name flew off his tongue like a curse. Denying its existence did nothing to make his stomach feel any better. He could say it until he was blue in the face and he wouldn’t feel any better. If he didn’t even believe himself how could Rob?
There was no way Tommy could have been killed by something that didn’t exist. It simply couldn’t have happened. There had to be some other explanation for why the hair and tracks were out there. Maybe a goat had somehow gotten away from a farm and was now roaming the woods looking for food and whatever else goats looked for. That scenario didn’t make much sense but the only other option made even less. He quickly asked Rob about his theory and was shaken by his answer. No one in the area had any goats. They seemed to be far and few between out here. They’d checked, or at least Rob had.
“Well, like I said before,” Rob began after a few shaky minutes, “don’t tell anyone else. Everyone around here grew up hearing the stories about that damn thing and the sheriff doesn’t want the town to getting fired up thinking there’s some creature on the loose killing people. That’s all we need right now is a bunch of the good ol’ boys going out hunting for the thing and shooting everything between here and the next town up. The only thing they’d probably manage killing is each other and some poor animals. Tommy’s death is being reported as an accident. End of story. I don’t like it but that’s what the law says it was so that’s what it is.”
Jim knew Rob didn’t believe it but that was the way the sheriff was going to tell it so he guessed he had to go along with it. Nothing would be accomplished by trying to get him to say otherwise except getting Rob in trouble. It definitely wouldn’t bring Tommy back.
They slowly walked down the street for a few more minutes trying to talk about other things to take their minds off the Goatman. It didn’t work very well until Pete’s name came up. Rob told him that after he left, Pete started getting a little strange. First he’d moved into one of the old houses that sat on the edge of the woods all by himself. Anyone other than Rob got chased off whenever they went around including his own parents. Then a few weeks after Pete had moved in he started doing a lot of strange things. One night Rob happened to be driving by on his normal rounds when he saw a glow in the sky near the area of Pete’s house. Wanting to make sure his friend was ok he’d decided to investigate. He didn’t know what he expected to find but what he found sure wasn’t it.
There were fires burning all around the house with Pete right smack dab in the middle of it all striding back and forth poking at them making them like he was one of hell’s own demons tending the pits of the damned. Rob had gone out a few times and tried talking some sense into Pete but to no avail. All he did was watch the flames burn and mumble strange things about stuff from the woods coming to get him and how he had to, no needed to, keep the fires burning so he would be safe. Jim agreed that it was strange but confessed he had no idea what to do about it. He’d been gone a long time. If Pete was really as far gone as he sounded he might not even remember who Jim was. Plus he wasn’t even going to be there that long. There was nothing he would be able to do for Pete in the short time he had.
Rob ignored Jim’s excuses, saying that the only time anyone saw Pete anymore was when he came to town to get food. Pete’s parents were worried about him but they continued paying for everything he needed. The house he lived, the food he ate, even the gasoline he used in his fires. They paid for it all. They wanted him to get help but knew they couldn’t force him. He had refused when they suggested it and they couldn’t make themselves send him away. They’d gone to the sheriff and asked if he could do anything but he’d told them that Pete wasn’t hurting anyone and as long as he didn’t set the woods on fire there wasn’t anything he could do. Rob finished up by telling Jim that he should visit Pete and see if he could talk some sense into him. Even though he wasn’t going to be there long seeing him might do Pete some good. Jim said he’d try to make it over there but knew he probably wouldn’t. He had one friend dead already. He didn’t know if he could take seeing another going crazy right before his eyes.
“I really do need to get back to work now,” Rob said after finishing the story of Pete’s plight. He looked at his watch and winced. “Yup, I’m real late for my rounds. So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at the funeral then.”
“Yeah,” Jim mumbled as Rob turned to go. “We’ll have to get together before I leave.”
“We can do that,” Rob said turning around and walking backwards. “Next time we won’t talk about so much of this bad stuff. We can talk about other things.”
“Like what?” Jim asked giving him the opening he was looking for.
“I know, you can tell me all about your date,” Rob said with a mischievous grin.
“Hey, you know what?” Jim asked blowing off his comment. “You’re such a great police officer and all that now so why don’t you see if you can find a life or something. Quit living through me.”
“Why? Yours is so much more entertaining,” Rob quickly fired back.
“You know me; I’m here for your entertainment,” Jim shot back just as fast.
Rob waved over his shoulder and walked down the street. Jim watched him go then looked up at the sky and saw it was later in the day than he’d thought. He still needed to get back to his mother’s house so he could grab a shower and be ready for his date later on. He had no clue what there was to do around here but no matter what it was he wanted to be clean and smelling good so he made a good impression. Jill might’ve just been being nice when she’d said she would go out with him but then again she’d come up with the idea herself, so she must be at least a little bit interested. At least, he could always hope, he thought.